Humber College's North campus may be the end of the line for the upcoming Finch West light rail transit project, but this morning, it transformed into the starting point of new funding for the plan.

Duncan (second from left), Morneau, Del Duca and Qaadri at Humber College, image, @StevenDelDuca

Federal finance minister Bill Morneau, stepping in for his colleague, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi, visited the college's north campus to announce that the government of Canada was kicking in as much as $333 million to support the project.

Ontario's Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca, local MP Kirsty Duncan, and MPP Shaafiq Qaadri joined Morneau during the event.

The government of Ontario is already contributing $1.2 billion to build the 11-kilometre (seven-mile) line from the future Finch West Station to the college's north campus.

Finch West light rail transit line, image, Metrolinx

Ontario's regional transit agency, Metrolinx, has partnered with Infrastructure Ontario to advance the project to the request for proposals stage. It plans to award the contract to design, build and finance the 19-station line to one of three consortia this year. Metrolinx has already started the early stages of construction on the project, with major construction starting later this year, once it has determined the successful proponent.

In May, Metrolinx announced that it had entered an agreement with French multinational company Alstom to build trainsets for the future Finch West LRT.

A mock-up of an Alstom light rail trainset in Metrolinx livery, image, Alstom

Humber College may not be the end of the line for long: the Greater Toronto Airports Authority proposes a major transit terminal at Toronto Pearson International Airport that includes space for Finch LRT trains.

We will keep you updated as the project progresses. Want to share your thoughts? Leave a message on this page, or add your voice to the ongoing conversation in our Forum.